A Look Back at Symposium 2019

Supporting educators is a proven approach to increase student learning. This February 10 – 12, educators from across the country gathered together to discuss educators’ role in helping students succeed, with a particular focus on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in classrooms, schools, and districts.

If we truly desire to attain educational equity in our lifetime, schools, districts, and communities must all work together to provide educators with the professional growth opportunities and resources they need to serve and empower students.

New Teacher Center gathered together experts in the field to discuss ways to promote such learning opportunities among educators. Through working sessions, evidence-based presentations, and thought-provoking keynote addresses, educators from across the country gained first-hand insights and best practices on how district leaders, principals, mentors, and coaches create professional learning opportunities and environments for educators that, ultimately, increase student achievement and end educational inequities.

Keynote addresses included:

Key takeaways from NTC’s 21st Annual Symposium:

New Teacher Center’s CEO Desmond Blackburn released the organization’s new mission and vision:

Our mission is to disrupt the predictability of educational inequities for systemically underserved students, from preschool through high school, by accelerating educator effectiveness.

Our vision is that every systemically underserved student, from preschool through high school, receives an equitable education from excellent educators who empower them to reach their full potential in classrooms, communities, and beyond.

Keynote addresses from Ron Clark, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Senegal Mabry all spoke on the important role educators play to end educational inequities build strong relationships with their students.

“When we ignore the one ‘reform’ that we know works best, we must confront the why.” – Nikole Hannah-Jones, Reporter, New York Times

“Teachers need to have the freedom to fall as they work to connect with students in their classroom. We’re building lifelong relationships that students remember.” -Senegal Mabry, Student and Advisory Council Member, My Brother’s Keeper Initiative

“If the kids think every adult in the building cares about them and their grades, they’re going to try harder.” – Ron Clark, Founder, Ron Clark Academy

Pre-Conference, Featured Speaker, and General Sessions provided evidence and district and classroom examples on how to support educators and end educational inequities.

In the Coaching for Racial Equity session, for example, Swaicha Chanduri and Kelly Reimer, Peer Mentors, and Sarah Twiest, i3 Program Lead, San Francisco Unified School District; Emily Grossberg, Senior Program Consultant, New Teacher Center leddiscussions of equity issues and had participants consider what it would mean to leave a safe place and move to a brave space. They then observed an equity-based coaching conversation, supported by NTC protocols and tools.

Additional topics of discussion included:

Balancing social and emotional learning with rigorous, academic standards

Understanding and mentoring with the whole child and learner variability in mind

Media Contact:

Stay Connected

NTC is constantly striving to find solutions that work for you and your district, and to ensure growth amongst your community and students. Sign up for the newsletter to keep current on the latest NTC happenings.